Connie Van Onselder

Economics and Management; member, Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management (concentration in accounting)

Residence:

Lexington, Ky.

Career:

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Keeneland Association

Albion challenged Connie.

A liberal arts education and Albion in particular taught me critical thinking. As a top financial officer, it is imperative that you know how to question and apply logic as well as manage people. Management is actually taught at Albion, something that I have seen fellow colleagues struggle with. Experience is essential in management, but having the basics in your head before you start and working through scenarios in a classroom setting definitely provide an advantage once you work past the “number crunching” positions.

Albion encouraged independent and critical thinking, provided real-world internship opportunities that opened doors once I graduated, exposed me to topics and people that I had not been exposed to before, and introduced me to some of my closest lifelong friends.